Flat caps are a flat cap with a very small, thin brim in front, stemming from an open collar or sometimes from a hairband. The hat’s name comes from the Latin word for cap (cap). The cap is called in Ireland: a paddy hat, in Scotland as a brimless hat, in Wales as chaps, in New Zealand as an elasticized driving cap, and in the US as the driving cap. Clothes to wear with flat caps often include shirts with buttons, open collars, and short-sleeved tops. The cap can be worn with bare shoulders too.
The materials used to create flat caps vary widely. Materials such as polyester and acrylic are common. Materials like cotton, silk, wool, nylon, polyester-cotton blend, velvet, fleece, or even fur are worn. Most modern flat caps are made with polyester-cotton blend, which is not as gathered. A hat that has a bonnet is called a no-bonnet hat. There are many variations of this type of hat, including those with elastic band along the brim or removable Bonnet clips.
Flat cap hats are extremely popular in popular culture. They are worn by people of all ages, most commonly in children. In popular culture, they are often worn by nurses, teachers, policemen, fire fighters, coal miners, motorcyclists, cowboys, ranchers, airplane pilots, and sports figures. The cap is one of the few hats that have widespread usage across gender and age boundaries. While the cat’s origin is Irish and unknown, flat caps are now quite common in North America and other parts of western Europe.